In the age of analytics, it is not just about having the technical knowledge and having innovative ideas, but knowing how data can create a business value. If you are working with data you need to have a bigger picture of the whole business, think strategically about optimising the digital landscape to increase revenue, drive growth and improve customer experience.
Analytics leader in today’s organisation needs to be a renaissance professional, and there are many skill sets and competencies that are important to become an analytics leader but here we outline five key personality traits these leaders should have to succeed in their own analytics journey.
Identifying correct data for an appropriate use case
The analytics leader should be able to pinpoint what data is valuable and can be used to make an informed decision about the business. They should be able to identify where and how they want to apply analytics in the business. The secret of becoming a true analytics leader and staying ahead of the competition is enabling data to move at the speed of business. The leader should be able to spot trends and opportunities and drive growth, efficiency and change the business. “One part that everyone looks at is data, but taking out business insight from data is a challenge”, said Ashutosh Misra Of Philips Lighting in an interview with AIM, and a leader should be able to drive just that.
Be the translators between business and analytics
The data analytics leader has to become a bridge between the business and technical team that design and implement analytics-based solutions. He/she might not be technically equipped in the best way but must know how to deal with the clients, understand the business and put solutions in place. He/ She should be efficient in integrating analytics into existing processes and organisational structure with much ease and take responsibility for the constantly evolving business size. An organisation can only benefit from big data when its analytics leader implements a clear data strategy.
Be able to keep a pace with rapidly evolving pace in analytics
As Devendra Sharnagat of Kotak Mahindra said in an interview with AIM that analytics is becoming a very technologically intensive field with platforms evolving at a rapid pace. With rising technology demands, an analytics leader must be able to make the heavy investment while tightening the operational costs. While analytics investments have to lead to significant ROIs in the past, analytics leader across various industries need to keep pace with the rapidly moving digital adoption to get a clear and unambiguous ROI from their business.
Customer centricity is important in analytics industry and so should be the leader’s focus on them
Putting customers first and optimising digital landscape to improve customer experience is the key. Today customers expect an omnichannel experience, which has increased the complexity around customers data and patterns. The leaders need to decrypt the data and create a learning out of it which will not only give more insights about their customers but also help the businesses predict the future behaviour. Tapping into the uniqueness of each person they serve and developing new and engaging services to match their needs, will not only ensure a better customer experience but would get them better revenues. “From a client servicing standpoint, it is always about understanding client business situation well enough to have any project move in the right direction and to deliver business impact”, said Kapil Malhotra, Head- Analytics, Pepsico in an interview with AIM.
Expand analytical skill sets in the organisation
She/he must create educational opportunities to expand the analytical skill sets in the organisation. ‘The analytics leader should aim to create a culture in which teams can explore meaningful threads and then focus on driving evidence-based outcomes, TJ Hannigan, head of customer insights at Dropbox said in a report. The analytics leader should not overburden his team with too many processes and standards that undermine the flexibility.
